The York University Lions women's hockey team made the long trip west to Windsor to battle the Windsor Lancers in a the OUA West Play-in on Thursday night, after securing the final spot on the season's final day. This marked the first-ever OUA \play-in game, implemented for the 2024-25 season. A win in this game would advance York to the main postseason bracket and set up a date with the OUA's top seed, the Guelph Gryphons, in a best-of-3 quarter-final.
One thing this game would not be – at least we thought – was easy for the Lions. Windsor had won both regular-season meetings, outscoring the Lions 8-3.. Despite dropping their final four regular-season games, the Lions entered the playoffs with a key difference-maker: goaltender Emma Wedgewood. The third-year netminder showcased her reliability once again, stopping 34 of 37 shots to backstop York to victory.
The Lions wasted little time cracking the scoreboard. Rookie Isabela Huculak opened the scoring at 6:04 of the first period with her first OUA postseason goal in her first playoff game. Jillian Milligan and Ginger Fast drew the assists on the goal that gave the visitors an early edge. Later in the period, Natalie Mamone doubled York's lead, putting home a loose puck that snuck in behind Rebecca Noble, to make it 2-0 Lions after 20.
York extended its advantage early in the second period with a pair of power-play goals in 1:51. Another rookie, Mikayla Totten, found the back of the net just over four minutes in, as she ripped one from the top of the circle past Noble. Trynity Turner provided the lone assist on the goal, making it 3-0 Lions. Then 26 seconds into another power play, Alexa Giantsopoulos converted another power-play opportunity, assisted by Milligan and Mamone. Gianstopoulos' second point of the night made it 4-0. Windsor cut the lead to two before the end of the middle frame, courtesy of Maggie Peterson, but the Lions held onto a 4-2 lead after two periods of play.
The Lancers continued to push in the third, cutting the deficit to one goal at 9:46 on a tally from Maggi DeWolf-Russ. However, York's defensive structure and Wedgewood's stellar performance kept Windsor at bay in search of the equlizer. With just over a minute remaining, Ava Ricker-Singh stole the puck at centre and sealed the win with an empty-netter, sending York to the quarters against Guelph.
Special teams played a crucial role in the victory, with the Lions converted on two of their four power-play opportunities while shutting down each of Windsor's seven.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will get set to do battle with the best team in their division in the quarter-finals for a second straight year, looking for an encore of their stunning sweep of the Nipissing Lakers from last season. The series will begin with Game 1 in Guelph either Wednesday or Thursday, with Game 2 to be held Saturday, Mar. 1 and, if necessary, Game 3 on Sunday Mar. 2. Stay tuned to yorkulions.ca for a full series schedule.
